LOUISVILLE, Ky.—It is game day in Louisville as No. 21/18 FCS Villanova (1-1) gets ready for its annual matchup against an FBS foe tonight against No. 24 FBS Louisville (0-1) at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. The game will be televised on the ACC Network and can be streamed on the ESPN app. The radio call on the Villanova Sports Radio Network can be found on the iHeart radio app.
 
Villanova arrived in Louisville on Thursday afternoon and is set for its first-ever matchup against the Cardinals and the team's first visit to the state of Kentucky since 1972. Since the Wildcats first joined a conference back in 1988, this season is the first (excluding the Spring 2021 season) that Villanova is not playing a non-conference game until the third week of the season. The last current ACC member the Wildcats played was Pittsburgh in 2016.
 
Friday's game will be the 29th matchup against an FBS opponent since the relaunch of Villanova Football as an FCS program in 1985. Recent FBS foes the Wildcats have faced are Penn State (2021, 2025); Army West Point (2022); UCF (2023); and Maryland (2024). Villanova is 4-24 against FBS teams since 1985. The wins have come against Rutgers (2002) and Temple (2003, 2009, 2018), with the 2003 game against the Owls being the first regular season football game to be played at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
 
Many of the FBS matchups the Wildcats have played in have been close games, including 10 that came down to a single touchdown. Notable narrow defeats versus FBS competition came in 2014 at Syracuse (28-27, 2ot); in 2015 at Connecticut (20-15); and in 2017 at Temple (16-13).
 
Friday's game at Louisville will be the 21st time in school history that Villanova faces an opponent ranked in the current week's Associated Press poll. The AP poll dates to 1936 and has been the most commonly referred to I-A/FBS national ranking since the current divisional alignment began in 1978. Villanova is 1-19 against teams ranked in the AP Top 25, with the lone win coming against No. 18 Detroit Mercy in 1937.
 
Below are some additional news and notes on the Wildcats for this week.
 
PATRIOT LEAGUE DEBUT: A transformational new chapter of Villanova football begins this season as the Wildcats make their highly anticipated debut as an associate member of the Patriot League. The match between Villanova and the Patriot League is a natural one both on and off the field, and the Wildcats were picked to finish atop the league standings in a preseason poll of league head coaches.
 
THE POWER OF 10: In July, the Patriot League unveiled its football-specific brand identity and slogan, "The Power of 10," marking the beginning of A New Era of Patriot League Football as the League enters the 2026 season with 10 football-playing institutions for the first time in its 41-year history. n "The Power of 10" campaign reflects both the strength coming with expansion and the collective success that has long defined Patriot League football, creating one of the nation's premier FCS conferences. Collectively, the Patriot League's 10 football members have won two FCS national championships, advanced to 12 FCS national semifinals and reached the quarterfinal round 22 times, earning 42 FCS postseason wins.
 
AT A LOSS FOR YARDS: Villanova has recorded 19 tackles for loss in its first two games of the season, including 12 in the season opener against William & Mary and seven last week at Bucknell. The last time the Wildats had as many as 19 TFL in a two-game span also occurred in the first two games of a season. It was back in 2021 when Villanova had seven tackles for loss at Lehigh in its season opener and 12 a week later at home against Bucknell. There are 13 different players who had had at least one assisted TFL for the Wildcats this season, led by sophomore linebacker Omari Bursey who has 4.5 tackles for loss.
BURSEY ONTO THE SCENE: Sophomore linebacker Omari Bursey leads the FCS with 29 total tackles through the first two weeks of the season. He had 14 stops against Bucknell last week and was named the Stats Perform FCS Defensive Player of the Week to go along with being chosen as the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week. Bursey also ranks second nationally with eight solo tackles per game and is fifth in the country with 2.25 tackles for loss per contest. Prior to this season, Bursey's career high for tackles in a game was eight.
 
STEPPING UP ON DEFENSE: Fifth year defensive back and linebacker Garrett Rogan has stepped up his play through the first two weeks of the season and has had back-to-back games with a career high seven tackles. He made the biggest play of the game in the Bucknell win last week when he blocked a 29-yard field goal attempt by the Bison with 1:57 remaining to preserve a one-point Villanova lead and ultimately seal the game's outcome.
 
REED ALL ABOUT IT: Sophomore wide receiver Braden Reed recorded his first career two-touchdown game last week. He caught five passes for 68 yads in the win over Bucknell, including catches in the end zone for 26 yards in the first quarter and 16 yards in the second quarter which helped the Wildcats take a 14-0 lead into the locker room. Reed scored three touchdowns as a true freshman last season when he emerged as one of the team's leading receivers. He is also Villanova's top option on punt returns and ranks 12th in school history with 321 career punt return yards.
 
THE BEST OF BRANDON: It is appropriate to have a note this week about sophomore wide receiver Brandon Binkowski. As a true freshman last year, Binkowski had a Sportscenter Top 10 play in his second career game when he made a leaping catch at the back of the end zone in the Wildcats game at Penn State. Binkowski has opened this season with back-to-back career highs in receiving yards, including four catches for 56 yards and a touchdown in the opener against William & Mary and three catches for 71 yards in the Bucknell win last week.
 
BACK IN BLUE: Graduate quarterback Pat McQuaide has thrown for 488 yards and three touchdowns through the first two weeks of the season. He was in strong form at Bucknell last week when he went 13-of-20 through the air with no turnovers and a pair of touchdown passes to Braden Reed in the first half. McQuaide is 11th in school history with 3,611 passing yards and is 287 yards away from moving into the top 10 in the Villanova record book. He leads the Patriot League and ranks sixth nationally this season with an average of 16.27 yards per completion. McQuaide is also second among PL signal callers in passing yards, yards per attempt (9.76) and total offense per game (245.0). In his first year with the Wildcats last season, McQuaide threw for 3,123 yards and 25 touchdowns with just four interceptions while helping lead Villanova to the FCS playoff semifinals.
 
PLAYING THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Villanova may be new to the Patriot League this season, but it has played eight of the other nine teams in the conference at least once since 2015. The only member of the conference that the Wildcats have not faced in a long time is Georgetown, who will visit Villanova Stadium in the regular season finale later this year. Despite their memorable matchups on the hardwood, the Wildcats and the Hoyas have not faced each other in football since 1950. Villanova has won 20 consecutive games against Patriot League teams since a 2013 loss to Fordham. That streak does not count games that the Wildats played against Richmond or William & Mary when the teams were conference opponents in CAA Football.
 
DOUBLE DIGIT WINS: Villanova is coming off a 12-3 season in 2025 which tied the second-most wins in a season in school history. It was the fourth time in the last five years that the Wildcats have won 10 or more games. The only two FCS teams with 10+ wins in four of the last five seasons are Villanova and defending national champion Montana State.
 
SUPER SIX: Villanova has been one of the dominant teams in the FCS over the last six seasons and has a 49-19 (.721) overall record in that span (2021-26). The .721 winning percentage ranks eighth among current FCS teams during this stretch.
 
YOU WILL REMEMBER ME (FOR A CENTURY): The 2026 season is the 100th year of hosting intercollegiate athletic events in venerable old Villanova Stadium, which was officially dedicated on October 8, 1927. Villanova has an all-time record of 278-114-5 (.707) at Villanova Stadium, including a 29-4 home record over the last five years. A 100th birthday celebration for the venue is being planned for next season.
 
POLLING PLACES: Villanova began the 2026 season ranked in both the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 (No. 8) and the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll (No. 7). This is the 34th time in the last 39 years that the Wildcats have been nationally ranked at some point during the season. Villanova ranks third among all teams in FCS history (since 1978) for the number of weeks appearing in the national media poll. In their 342 weeks being nationally ranked, the Wildcats have been in the top 10 for a total of 159 weeks (11th most all-time) and have been ranked in the top five for 67 weeks. Villanova has been ranked in each of the last 40 national polls dating back to the middle of the 2023 season (October 16 poll). This is the fourth-longest active streak among FCS teams.
 
PRESEASON PATRIOT LEAGUE POLL: Villanova was picked to finish atop the Patriot League standings in its inaugural season in the league in a preseason poll of league head coaches. The Wildcats received seven first-place votes (Lehigh received the other three) and a total of 79 points in the poll to come in four points ahead of defending league champion Lehigh. Villanova defeated Lehigh, 14-7, in the second round of last year's FCS playoffs.
 
PRESEASON ALL-PATRIOT LEAGUE: Villanova had five selections to the Preseason All-Patriot League team in the poll of league head coaches. The selections on offense include running back Ja'briel Mace, wide receiver Braden Reed and right guard Chris McCullers, while the defensive selections are linebacker Omari Bursey and defensive end Capri Martin.
 
WALTER PAYTON AWARD WATCH LIST: Junior running back and kick returner Ja'briel Mace is among 30 offensive players nationwide, including three from the Patriot League, who were named to the Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List on Tuesday morning. The watch list was announced by Stats Perform for the annual award which is presented to the national offensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football. This is the third straight year that Villanova has had a player named to the initial watch list for the Walter Payton Award.
 
NATIONAL PRESEASON ACCOLADES FOR MACE: In addition to being named to the Watch List for the Walter Payton Award, running back and kick returner Ja'briel Mace was named a Stats Perform Preseason All-American and landed a spot on the 2027 East-West Shrine Bowl 1000. Last season Mace became the second player in Villanova history to average more than 30 yards on kickoff returns over a full season. He had 23 returns for 735 yards and an average of 31.96 yards per return, with both his total return yards and his average return ranking him second among all FCS players. Mace also was the first player in the country last season to return two kickoffs for touchdowns, a feat he accomplished twice in a three-game span with a 100-yard return against William & Mary on September 27 followed two weeks later by a 97-yard return for a score at Elon. An explosive runner in any role on the field, Mace was the Wildcats leading rusher in a deep corps of running backs last season. He ran for 946 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging 7.39 yards per carry, including three games with over 100 yards and three with two or more rushing touchdowns. Mace had a historic performance against Towson on November 8 last season when he broke Brian Westbrook's single game record for rushing yards. Mace had 291 yards and scored all four Villanova touchdowns in a 28-10 victory. He followed that performance two weeks later with 165 yards and two scores in the regular season finale against Sacred Heart, then had 151 rushing yards and a touchdown in an FCS playoff quarterfinal win at Tarleton State.
 
PLAYING WITH EXPERIENCE: The members of this year's Villanova roster have played a total of 1,047 games in their college football careers. There are 12 members of the roster who have appeared in 30 games or more and four who have appeared in 40 or more games. The team leaders in games played are the trio of running back Julian Glantz, defensive end Capri Martin and quarterback Pat McQuaide who have each played in 41 career games.
 
WELCOME TO THE MAIN LINE: The newcomers to the Villanova roster this season include five transfers who all have previous college football experience. The five incoming transfers include cornerback Mikey Allen (Southern Utah), linebacker Tyler Cain (Slippery Rock), tight end Brody Eaton (Marist), wide receiver Jake Hilton (Wisconsin-River Falls) and kicker Dominic LeBlanc (Tennessee Tech). All five players appear on the Wildcats depth chart to begin the season.
 
DID YOU KNOW? Villanova has played 1,232 games in its history and those contests have yielded 670 unique scores. It isn't hard to tell how much the game of football has changed over the years. The most commonly repeated score in school history is 6-0 which has occurred 23 times, including 11 Villanova wins by that score and 12 losses.